Had a back channel discussion with another member re B Invested a few months ago. Their experience was initially OK until they inadvertently received an email (from Daniel Young) reporting their meeting to Nathan. An addressing mistake that exposed their real thinking. It was completely unprofessional and showed a distinct lack of any respect for clients who don't convert to cash cows. 

Definitely changed my opinion of B Invested as a business and reinforces my belief that most industry players like to present themselves as 'helping' their fellow investors out of some sense of goodwill is in the main BS. It never ceases to amaze me at how quickly this urge to 'help' evaporates when there's no likelihood of a payoff immediately or further down the track.

Each outfit presents its own data that comes from disparate data bases. Differences are accounted for in methodology, time frame, data sets, correction methods etc. Stats cannot predict the future so actual figures are worthless. The value is defining trends from the data. So while different publishers may disagree on actual figures or their accuracy is questionable the trends they reveal are the value in the information if they support each other.

zmagen wrote:

Freckle wrote:

He was in the low 70's. He's goner. Writings on the wall. When you need teen bands, sumo and FB to get by things are definitely looking sad. I doubt if half his followers are old enough to vote.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23396234

Quote:

…Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has won a majority in the upper house, exit polls suggest.

His Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner New Komeito were set to get at least 71 of the 121 seats being contested, broadcaster NHK projected.

This would give him control of both houses of parliament for the first time in six years…

Any other graph-adorned predictions we should take note of?

He was always predicted to take the upper house short of some major catastrophe. Once he has total control it will be interesting to see what crazy schemes he and his party will come up with next. Globally the systemic cracks continue unabated. 

Japan's government revenues are 30.56% of GDP while its government spending is 40.35% of GDP. Thus Japan's government runs a surplus of -8.92% of GDP. Net government debt is 126.41% of GDP.

Debt foreva!!  Yep that'll work…

Sorry for the delay Ziv. In the last week of packing and loading a container.

Japan's pathway to economic stability has always been to reduce deficits and get its debt down to manageable levels and eventually reduce to a modest percentage of GDP. Japan worked on the premise that it could outgrow its debt in good times. It failed miserably on that score and is now stuck in a situation where the tail wags the dog.

There is no other solution to a debt problem other than to reduce and eliminate debt. Krugman and few other brilliant economists have tried to convince us that debt doesn't matter. The Japanese just need to spend moar, borrow moar and all will be alright. Hasn't worked in 30 years and never will. 

I'd go with Jeff. 

You're at the bottom of the range as far as "does it pass muster". We all have different bench marks but this one, by superficial figures, appears borderline.

It's a tough market out there and it's only going to get tougher. You cannot afford to start investment portfolios with investments that barely cross the line. Your first 2 or 3 must be able to perform from the get go. It's like building a house. The foundations support everything else. Get that building block wrong or accept weak foundations and you're now sitting on a potential disaster. 

10 years ago you could get away with the odd dud but not today. If you don't set some kind of performance standard that strengthens a potential investment portfolio then you're better off on the roulette wheel.

Cold feet is instinct telling you this is one not the one. Nobody ever died NOT jumping off a cliff.

You're better off taking 3 times as long getting it right than half as long getting it wrong. Don't pressure yourself into having to get started. It's not a race. And don't feel like the number of properties is directly proportional to success. It's not. Quality should be your investing mantra not how much you have invested. 

Nope. You'll see investment tighten everywhere as markets correct. Money generally chases yield and when yields are poor in a sector then other sectors are favored. Property yields decrease as prices rise. While there's been small increases in the main markets those increases in general are not enough to keep pace with inflation and costs. Rents don't usually rise in difficult labor markets so yield margins compress even further. So both CG and yields are under pressure.

The property investor tribe if you like are slowly realising that the boom days are well and truly gone and squeezing a profit out of property will take more than simply buy and hold. The vast majority of investors are simplistic in their approach and unsophisticated in their over all investment strategies. The bottom 40% will put it in the too hard basket for the time being until they see a more buoyant market. That's enough to put a dent in demand growth rates.

If things go the way I think they'll go I would expect to see the AU property market in all sorts of bother by 4Q14. There's a little bit of heat in the market at the moment and no fundamentals supporting it.  If that disappears by the end of this year then I think 2014 could be a smackdown year.

China's the key for the time being. It's in all sorts of bother and deteriorating much faster than most realise and many pundits are willing to admit. It's the only growth driver in an otherwise struggling global economic landscape. China's demand is about the only thing holding the big economies together at the moment. While things are bad in some economies the demand out of China makes the difference between surviving and drowning. 

Throw in Japan and you have the makings of a king hit to Australia economically. We live in precarious times.

He was in the low 70's. He's goner. Writings on the wall. When you need teen bands, sumo and FB to get by things are definitely looking sad. I doubt if half his followers are old enough to vote.

The industry pros provide good quality advice and technical expertise that addresses a prospect's financial capability or ability to invest and the best way forward to achieve that. What the industry pros don't do to the best of my knowledge is advise prospects not to invest because they lack the skill, knowledge or expertise etc to successfully achieve a positive outcome given the difficulty and complexity of current markets and economies.

In the main I don't have a problem with that because people are in the business to sell a service or product. The new investors need to understand that advice from industry sources will in the main be subjective. 

I see way too many newbies coming here who are being encouraged into getting their feet wet before they're competent enough to understand the implications of their decisions. This particular thread is a case in point. There are people out there regardless of their financial capability who should never invest in property because they will never develop the acumen required to successfully manage a property or heaven forbid a portfolio. My landlord is the proverbial case study that exemplifies that point. She's a prime example of the PI who will, regardless of assistance, constantly fail and unfortunately will impoverish herself over the next decade at the current rate.

She's lost by my estimate approximately $150k on 2 properties over the last 6 years. She's now sold both and the one I'm in has been sold to another dumb as a chook PI who's paid too much for it ($25-30k) in a declining market with no CG potential for some time and which is invariably negatively geared. 

The industry spruiks the benefits and potential of property investing but I rarely see the the downside or suitability factor addressed comprehensively. The over riding message to all is that you have the potential and ability to successfully invest in property even when it's evident that many do not.

I could strip and resilicon a shower in about 30 minutes Jacs and If I couldn't prep and repaint 2 bathrooms in a day I'd hang up my brushes.

So lets say 15hrs at $35/hr  = $525

Plus $80 travel……………….   = $605

Plus materials – $200………   = $806

I'm really struggling to get to a $1000 here. So I would want to see an itemised account and I mean itemised along with justification for such a high bill. 

My argument has always been is that if you are going to charge pro rates or close to it then the work must be done in a timely fashion and to an acceptable industry standard. If one or both of those conditions are not met then the rate is not justifiable. So someone who is competent but slow cannot charge a high time rate. I find 56 hrs exorbitant to say the least. That is at best twice the industry average. 

Unless this operator can convince you that the time charge is reasonable I would pay half and dispute the rest.